Friday, July 17, 2009

Burton on "9," Comic-Con

MTV News spoke with Tim Burton about his coming to Comic-Con next week to discuss Alice in Wonderland, 3D cinema, and the animated science-fiction movie 9. Burton will visit San Diego's Comic-Con on Friday, July 24th, and offered his memories of going to Comic-Con when he was in college.

"I went when I was a student at CalArts," he told MTV News. "I'll never forget this, and it’s probably why I haven’t been back since, because it was so terrifying. They had a slideshow for the original 'Superman,' and in the middle of it some fan gets up and just very angrily goes, 'Superman would not change into his costume on the ledge of a building! You are destroying the mythology of Superman!' And he got up and walked out, followed by other people. That scared the s--t out of me! So I haven’t been back since then."

"It'll be interesting to see how it's changed over the years," said Burton.

He then talked about 9, created and directed by Shane Acker. Burton became a producer on the feature when he saw Acker's original short film, and became very excited about it.

"I just love the texture and stop-motion feel to it," said Burton. "I know animation is broadening its horizons but this just felt different... I liked the world that [Acker] created and the texture. It felt like a different type of animated film. The visuals were helping to create the story. I just felt very in tune with the look and feel of it."

"Our goal as producers—if you see someone you like, you don’t want to suppress them — the goal was to create an environment where he can do his thing," Burton continued. "My attitude is always to give suggestions and if he uses them fine, if not, okay. We wanted this to be grounded and slightly realistic in the similar vein to stop-motion, let the film breathe. We wanted it to have mystery and let it breathe."

And how much will fans be able to see of the film if they attend Comic-Con this July? Burton didn't say much, but teased, "Probably a sequence or two."